Sick Day
by Katherine Tripp
Summary: Chandler Gets sick........


Title: Sick Day  
  
Author: Katherine Hansen  
  
Rating: G  
  
Summary: Chandler gets sick...  
  
Disclaimer: They're not mine, I wish they were, but they're not.  
  
Author's Note: Hey guys! This is my first Friends fic, I hope you guys like it. I'm a fairly new fan to Friends, so I hope I captured the characters well. This is just a little Chandler torture type deal, there's not a really deep plot, I just wrote it for fun. Feedback is appreciated!  
  
***  
  
"Good morning New York City. It's 6:30 AM and the sun is shining on this Friday morning. Today's high is-"  
  
Monica slapped off the alarm clock. She stretched and rubbed her eyes, trying to wake up. She looked over to Chandler's side of the bed, and was shocked to see that he wasn't still in bed. "I wonder why he's up already," she muttered to herself.  
  
The sound of retching answered her question. She got out of bed and walked to the bathroom. "Chandler, honey." she said as she knocked on the door. "Are you okay?"  
  
"Monica?" Came the weak reply from the bathroom, followed by more coughing.  
  
The door was open slightly, so Monica let herself in. Chandler was leaning over the toilet, throwing up. His body was shaking with every dry cough. His face was ashen, and he was barely holding himself up with the toilet seat.  
  
"Oh Chandler, you're sick." Monica rushed to his side.  
  
Chandler coughed one more time, and collapsed back against the wall, breathing heavily. He closed his eyes and shuddered, he felt absolutely terrible. "I'm running out of stuff to throw up." He muttered, a slight smile coming to his face. "I think my liver's next."  
  
Monica kneeled down next to him. "How long have you been in here?"  
  
"I don't know, what time is it?"  
  
"It's six thirty."  
  
"Well, about three hours then."  
  
"Three hours!" Monica exclaimed. "You've been throwing up for three hours!? Why didn't you wake me up?"  
  
"I didn't want to bother you. And I only threw up every thirty minutes or so. Every time I would try to go back to bed my stomach would have objections again."  
  
Monica sympathetically smiled. "I'm sorry sweetie." She felt his forehead. "Chandler, you're burning up." She said. "You need to go back to bed. Can you stand?"  
  
Chandler nodded and Monica helped him stand up. She helped him into bed and went back into the bathroom. She returned with a thermometer and a small trash can. She put the thermometer in his mouth and set the trash can down beside the bed. "You need to stay in bed, so if you have to throw up again use the trash can." The thermometer beeped and she took it out of his mouth. "102.5." she said. "Well, it's definitely bed for you today." She said.  
  
"No, I have to go to work." Chandler said and tried to get up.  
  
"Oh no you don't!" Monica gently pushed him back down. "You can't go to work today, you can barely stand! And since when do you want to go to work?"  
  
"I have a lot of stuff to do today, I need to be there."  
  
"Sorry, not today. So do you want me to call and tell them you're sick?"  
  
Chandler groaned. "Yeah, that'll go over well." He said sarcastically. "Oh, Bing's not man enough to make the phone call himself, so he had his wife do it."  
  
"Fine." Monica handed him the phone. "I'm going to take a shower, I'll be five minutes." She walked into the bathroom.  
  
Chandler sat up and leaned against the headboard. He dialed the phone. No one was in yet so he left a message. "Sir, it's Chandler Bing, um, I'm sick so I don't think I can come in today. I'll see you on Monday." He hung up the phone and laid back down. He was going to have a ton of stuff to do when he went back on Monday. Hopefully this would just be a 24 hour type deal. He pulled the covers off. He was so hot. He tried to relax and go to sleep, but his eyes were burning so he opened them back up. He vacantly stared at the wall, and waited for Monica to get out of the shower.  
  
A minute later Monica stepped out of the bathroom in her robe. She had wet washcloth in her hand. She sat down next to him on the bed. "Chandler, why don't you try to go to sleep?" She said, folding the cloth and placing it on his forehead. He was shivering. "Here, let's put the blanket back over you."  
  
"It makes me hot, but when I take it off I'm freezing." Chandler muttered. "And I don't know why, but I can't sleep." He sighed. "My mouth is so dry."  
  
"Let me get you some water." Monica left the room and came back with a glass of water. "Here." She held it to his lips and he drank half the glass quickly. She sat down on her side of the bed and carefully helped him into her arms. He laid his head in her lap and she stroked his hair. "I don't have to go to work for a little while. I'll stay right here with you until you fall asleep, okay?"  
  
"Okay," he whispered.  
  
He closed his eyes and she felt him relax. She continued to run her fingers through his hair, hoping that he would fall asleep soon. After a few minutes his ragged breathing started to grow deeper, and she smiled.  
  
Just as she thought he was asleep, Chandler's eyes popped open, "Monica, I think I'm going to be sick again." He moaned and sat up.  
  
Monica grabbed the trash can and held it up to him just as he started to throw up again. He threw up the water and then dry heaved for several minutes. Tears automatically sprung to his eyes and his body was wracked with heaving. Monica mopped his brow with the washcloth. She wrapped her other arm around his waist, supporting him. "Oh Chandler..." she muttered consolingly. She didn't think he had ever been this sick before. She rubbed his back.  
  
When the heaving stopped Chandler collapsed back into Monica's arms. He went limp in her arms, all his energy drained.  
  
Monica was very concerned. "Chandler, maybe I should take you to the Hospital. You could get dehydrated if you can't hold in water."  
  
"No hospital," Chandler whimpered. "I don't want to go to the hospital. It's probably a 24 hour bug, I'll be okay tonight."  
  
Monica gave in. "Fine, but if you're still like this tomorrow, we're going. No buts about it."  
  
"Okay." Chandler replied. He closed his eyes. "I'll try, to sleep, again."  
  
"Good." Monica replied. She sat with him as he fell to a restless sleep. She looked at the clock. It was 8; she had been sitting with Chandler for an hour. She had to be at the restaurant at 11, so she had a couple of hours. She finished getting ready and went into the kitchen.  
  
*****  
  
Before she left for work Monica called Rachel.  
  
"Rachel Greene."  
  
"Hey Rach,"  
  
"Hey Mon, how are you?"  
  
"I'm good. How 'bout you."  
  
"Good. I'm actually not that busy today, so that's nice. What's up?"  
  
"Well, Chandler has got a terrible stomach virus, and I have to go to work until about eight tonight. He's been asleep for about two hours, but he was up half the night throwing up. I don't want to leave him alone for so long, so could you come by after you get off work to check on him? Just to make sure he has some water and check his temperature again?"  
  
"Of course. I get off at three. Joey and Phoebe aren't doing anything today, so one of them might be able to come check on Chandler today too."  
  
Monica smiled. The thought of Joey checking on Chandler struck her as funny. "That'd be great. Thanks Rach."  
  
"I'll be there when you get home, kay?"  
  
"Oh that's right! You guys were supposed to come over for dinner tonight!" Monica suddenly remembered.  
  
"Don't worry about it Mon. We can do it another time."  
  
"Well, you could still come over; he should be feeling a little better tonight."  
  
"I'll see what he thinks when I check on him."  
  
"Okay Rach. Thank you SO much."  
  
"No problem Mon. Bye!"  
  
"Bye!" Monica hung up the phone. She went back into the bedroom to check on Chandler. When she walked into the room he opened his eyes.  
  
"Oh you're awake." Monica smiled. "You feel a little better after your nap?"  
  
"No, not really." Chandler replied. "My whole body hurts. I feel like I got hit by a Mack truck."  
  
"Well, let's take your temperature again." Monica stuck the thermometer in his mouth. She smiled sympathetically and brushed his hair away from his sweaty forehead and ran her other hand gently up and down his arm. She took the thermometer out of his mouth. "103. Hmmm, it's risen, but not a whole lot. Why don't you try to drink some more water, but only a little bit this time."  
  
"Okay," Chandler allowed himself to be helped to a sitting position and he took a small sip of water.  
  
"Rachel's going to come check on you in a few hours, okay?"  
  
"Where are you going?" Chandler asked, his voice still very weak.  
  
"I need to go to work for a little while. But I'll be home as soon as I can. Joey's home today too if you need anything, and call me if you start to feel worse. Try to take a sip of water every once in a while. Do you want me to help you into the living room? You can lie on the couch and watch some TV or something."  
  
"Okay." Monica started to help him up to a sitting position, but he stopped her. "I think I can do it."  
  
"Good." Monica walked to the dresser and got Chandler a pair of basketball shorts and a white undershirt. "Put this on, just in case you get some visitors."  
  
It took all of Chandler's energy to pull the shirt and shorts on. He stood up, and felt very light-headed. "Monica." He called out, panic evident in his voice. He felt like he was going to pass out.  
  
Monica was at his side immediately. She wrapped one arm around his waist and helped him sit back on the bed. "Maybe you should just stay in here." She said.  
  
"No, I'll be okay." Chandler shakily rose to his feet, Monica supporting him. "Just, help me walk into the living room." He slowly shuffled towards the couch. Monica kept her one arm around his waist and placed the other one under his elbow, carefully guiding him.  
  
The short walk to the couch drained Chandler even more. He collapsed on the couch, and Monica helped him get settled. She then went back into the bedroom and got the trash can and the water. She placed them next to the couch and kneeled down next to him. Chandler's eyes were already drooping. "Okay honey, I'm going to go to work now, Rachel will be here in a little while."  
  
"Okay." Chandler whispered.  
  
Monica placed the phone and the TV remote on the coffee table. "The number for the restaurant is on speed dial, and you know the other numbers. If you feel any worse at all, call me, understood?" at his nod she continued. "Don't try to get up unless you absolutely have to, I don't think you're steady enough to go very far right now, you could fall and hurt yourself."  
  
"Yes Dr. Monica." Chandler muttered. "You watch too much ER."  
  
"If you weren't sick I'd kick your butt." Monica replied, grinning.  
  
"You can do it later." Chandler muttered again, his eyes closing. "I'll, let you, win..." He drifted off to sleep.  
  
Monica kissed his forehead. "Bye sweetie." She grabbed her purse and walked out the door. As soon as she turned to walk to the stairs she ran right into Joey. "Oh, hey Joey." She said.  
  
"Hey Monica. You in a hurry? Is Chandler at the office?"  
  
"Um, no, he's actually pretty sick, he stayed home. He's on the couch right now, sleeping. And I'm not really in a hurry, I guess I'm thinking that the sooner I get to work the sooner I can come home."  
  
Joey smiled. "Oh, well do you think Chandler will want to watch Baywatch with me?"  
  
"If he's awake, probably." Monica replied. She continued, her voice quickening. "But watch it at our apartment. And while you're there, make sure he drinks a little water at every commercial break or something. Don't let him get up unless he absolutely has to. Oh and if you could, check his temperature too. If it's any higher than like 103.5, call me and I'll come home. And if he starts to throw up again, make sure he uses the trash can. Don't let him stay awake for too long, he needs to sleep. Well, I have to go, thank you Joey, I'll see you later." With that Monica was gone, leaving a very confused Joey staring open-mouthed.  
  
"Uh huh." He said, shaking his head. "Riiiighhht." With a shrug of his shoulders he walked into his apartment. Baywatch didn't come on for another hour, so he'd bother Chandler then.  
  
******  
  
"Chandler!" Joey said excitedly as he walked into the apartment. He had a bag of chips and some sodas, and was entirely too excited. "Baywatch time, Baywatch time!"  
  
Chandler was still lying on the couch, exactly how Monica had left him. He wasn't feeling any better, and the sound of Joey's voice further aggravated his headache. "Hey man." He said weakly, forcing a smile.  
  
Joey plopped in a chair next to the couch. He took a good look at Chandler. "Man, you don't look so hot," he said. He held up the sodas and chips. "I brought food!"  
  
Just the thought of food made Chandler want to throw up again. "Uh, that's great, but I don't think I should be eating anything right now."  
  
"What, you've been puking or something?" Joey asked.  
  
"Yeah, like half the night." Chandler responded.  
  
Joey's interest was sparked. "Really? How many times?"  
  
Chandler weakly smiled. "I lost count. Eight or so?"  
  
"Whoa, that has to be a record or something. I don't think I've thrown up that much in my entire life!"  
  
"Yeah me either. Until today." Chandler's stomach was starting to get queasy again. "Okay, so Baywatch?" he asked, changing the subject.  
  
Joey's thoughts immediately went back to the show. "Oh yeah!" he grabbed the remote and turned the TV on.  
  
All talking ceased as Joey became very involved in watching Baywatch. He leaned forward in his seat, totally engrossed.  
  
Chandler started to watch the show, and managed to watch for a few minutes before his stomach objected again. He didn't want to use the trash can while Joey was there, but the bathroom looked so far away. He decided to try for the bathroom. He got up as quickly as he could, steadying himself, and rushed to the bathroom. He just barely made it.  
  
Joey saw Chandler rush to the bathroom, but his thoughts immediately went back to the show. He had forgotten every one of the instructions Monica had left him. But when Chandler hadn't come back by the next commercials, Joey decided to go see if he was okay.  
  
After he stopped, Chandler sat down on the bathroom floor, hoping that his stomach was finished. He let out a shaky breath and tried to stand up. He managed to get to his feet and started to walk towards the living room. He opened the door came face to face with Joey.  
  
"Chandler, are you okay?" Joey asked.  
  
"Um yeah Joey," Chandler answered. He slowly walked back to the couch and laid back down. "I think I'm going to try to sleep again."  
  
"Do you want me to leave so you can sleep?" Joey asked. "I don't want to bother you."  
  
"No you're fine Joe." Chandler said, his eyes closing. "You're not gonna bother me."  
  
"Okay, if you're sure." Joey sat back down and looked over at Chandler. He was already asleep. Joey returned to his show, his attention easily diverted.  
  
*****  
  
A few hours later Rachel walked into the apartment. She smiled at the sight before her. Chandler was asleep curled up on the couch, and Joey was quietly snoring in the chair. She didn't want to wake Chandler, but she needed to see how he was feeling. She kneeled down next to him and gently woke him. "Chandler." She said softly.  
  
Chandler's eyes slowly opened, "Hey Rachel." He said. "Did Monica send you to check on me?"  
  
"Yeah." Rachel responded. Monica had left the thermometer, a glass of water and some instructions on the end table. "So, are you feeling any better?"  
  
Chandler sighed. He knew he would have to tell the truth, it took too much energy to lie. "No, about the same. I threw up again."  
  
"Oh, that's not good." She looked over at Joey. "How long has Joey been here?"  
  
"A couple hours I guess. We were watching Baywatch. I fell asleep after I threw up, I guess Joey decided to take a nap too."  
  
Rachel smiled sympathetically. "Let's take your temperature again." She put the thermometer in his mouth. When it beeped she looked at it, frowning. "What was your temperature this morning?"  
  
"Uh, like 103 or something." Chandler responded. "Is it higher?"  
  
"Yeah, it's at 104.1 right now. That's really high. Maybe I should call Monica."  
  
"No, don't call Monica. I'm okay, really I am."  
  
"Chandler! You are not okay. A 104 temperature is not okay!"  
  
"Please don't call her." Chandler pleaded. "She'll make me go to the hospital, and I don't want to." His eyes started to close. "Don't call her." He muttered as he fell asleep again.  
  
Rachel sighed and picked up the phone. She dialed the restaurant. "Monica Bing please..." She waited.  
  
"This is Monica."  
  
"Hey Mon, it's Rachel."  
  
"Rachel, is Chandler okay?" Monica asked quickly.  
  
"Um, not really. I checked his temperature, it's at 104."  
  
"I'm coming home right now." Monica said.  
  
Rachel didn't have time to protest, Monica had already hung up the phone. She sighed, hopefully Chandler wouldn't be mad at her. He was borderline delirious, so she didn't think it would be a problem. She walked over to the couch. Even though Chandler was asleep he didn't look peaceful. It was very evident that he felt awful. Rachel didn't know that much about sickness, but she did know that throwing up a lot and a high fever wasn't good at all. Maybe the hospital was a good idea.  
  
About 15 minutes later Monica came rushing into the apartment, out of breath. She started to walk towards Chandler, but Rachel managed to grab her arm. "Monica, let him sleep." She said. "He really doesn't want to go to the Hospital. Maybe when he wakes up he'll feel better."  
  
Monica sighed. "Okay." She walked over to him and sat on the coffee table. "I feel so bad for him, he's so sick." She said softly, stroking his hair. "Has he thrown up again?"  
  
"He told me he had." Rachel answered.  
  
Monica noticed Joey. "How long has he been here?" She asked, smiling at Joey's sleeping figure.  
  
"Chandler said a few hours. Apparently they were watching Baywatch and they fell asleep." Rachel answered. "I'm going down to the coffee house. Do you want anything? I'll get it to go."  
  
"Sure, get me a latte. Thanks." Monica said.  
  
"Okay, I'll be right back."  
  
*****  
  
"Hey Rach!" Phoebe said as walked into Central Perk.  
  
"Hey Phoebes." Rachel responded.  
  
"I was looking for you guys." Phoebe said. "Where is everyone?"  
  
"Well, Ross is working, and everyone else is at Monica and Chandler's. Chandler's sick, so I came down here to get some coffee for me and Monica. You wanna come up for a little while?"  
  
"Sure. I'll wait with you while you get your coffee." Phoebe replied. "So what's wrong with Chandler?"  
  
"He has a stomach thing. He threw up all last night and today. He's asleep right now, but Monica's really worried about him. He has a high fever too."  
  
"That stinks." Phoebe said. "I'll cleanse his aura, maybe that'll help."  
  
"Yeah, maybe." Rachel responded.  
  
*******  
  
Monica stayed by Chandler's side as he slept. A few minutes after Rachel left he started to toss and turn, muttering incoherently. "Chandler?" she said.  
  
The tossing stopped, but he was sweating and looked distressed. She felt his forehead, he felt really really hot, worse than that morning. He stopped moving, and relaxed, and his breathing grew shallow and strained. "Chandler!" She said, her voice rising in panic. "Chandler, please wake up! Chandler!"  
  
Phoebe and Rachel entered the apartment and heard Monica's plea. Rachel put the coffees down and rushed to Monica. "Mon, what's wrong?"  
  
"He's not waking up." She said frantically. "Call 911!"  
  
Rachel ran to the kitchen and grabbed the phone. Phoebe saw Joey, and threw her shoe at him. "Joey!" she said sternly.  
  
Joey woke up and glared at Phoebe. "What?" He muttered.  
  
"There's something wrong with Chandler!" Phoebe exclaimed.  
  
Realization hit Joey and he stood up quickly, looking over towards Chandler. Monica had him in her arms, and she was rocking his unconscious figure. "Chandler," she said, tears filling her eyes. "Please wake up. Chandler.."  
  
******  
  
"Chandler."  
  
The sound of someone calling his name awakened the sleeping Chandler. He didn't want to open up his eyes, but the voice sounded so familiar.  
  
"Chandler."  
  
Chandler's eyes fluttered open and he focused on the beautiful face in front of him. "Monica." He whispered.  
  
"Hey sweetie." Monica said, a broad smile coming to her face.  
  
"Where, where am I?" he asked, surveying the unfamiliar surroundings.  
  
"You're in the hospital. You passed out yesterday, we couldn't wake you. You gave us quite a scare."  
  
"Sorry." Chandler whispered softly. "How long have I been asleep?"  
  
"For nearly 24 hours. You were delirious for a lot of the time. You had a really high fever and were dehydrated too, but the doctor say's you're going to be fine. It's just a nasty stomach virus."  
  
The door opened, and Chandler smiled. Rachel, Joey, Phoebe and Ross entered the room. "Chandler!" They exclaimed.  
  
"You scared us Chandler!" Rachel said.  
  
"Yeah, we couldn't wake you up. I thought you were dead or something!" Joey exclaimed. Phoebe smacked him in the arm. "What, I did!"  
  
"Are you feeling better?" Ross asked.  
  
"I guess." Chandler replied, exhaustion evident in his voice. He looked at Monica. "When can I go home?"  
  
"Probably tomorrow. You'll be released into the care of 'Dr. Monica'" Monica replied, grinning. Chandler looked so tired, and he was desperately trying to stay awake. "Chandler, why don't you go back to sleep."  
  
The others took their cue. They left, saying their goodbyes and promising to return the next day.  
  
Monica stroked his hair as Chandler's eyes closed. "Monica." He whispered.  
  
"Yes Chandler."  
  
"I love you." He said, and then drifted off to sleep.  
  
"I love you too honey." Monica replied, smiling at her sleeping Chandler.  
  
**Aw, yeah sap, but I was bored at work. Please Review, I'd love to hear what you think. Even flame if you want to, I just want feedback!** 


End file.
